SA 27. SEP 3:30 pm
Illustration: Ramón París
Marek Tuszynski, Tactical Tech
The tools we need are not the tools we want: a workshop
Most of the digital tools we use these days are cloud-based and designed to be as simple and frictionless as possible, as well as being social and user-focused in order to attract the largest possible number of users, who would then become dependent on their platforms. These platforms are offered for free (you are the product), and they turn their user base into a database (profiling), which can then be monetised through targeted advertising. By clicking “I agree”, we give them access to our behaviour (metadata) and facilitate cookies, beacons, scripts, etc. – anything goes, including browser fingerprinting (trackers). One solution is to install an ad blocker, but the same data is used to shape your entire experience, including filter bubbles, tailored bots, nudges and dark patterns. Your experience of these technologies is far from open, free or high-quality. We know all this about the data dragnet industry, yet we still use the tools because everyone else does and they are so easy to rely on. Add AI to the mix and nothing changes except that it supercharges the vicious spiral.
At this workshop, based on one of the chapters of the “RePlaybook: A Field Guide for Navigating the Information and Climate Crisis,” we will talk about how to choose tools that cause less harm to you, your community, and the planet.
Tactical Tech is a creative international non-profit with over two decades of experience dedicated to exploring the socio-political and environmental impacts of technology on society. They work to empower individuals and communities to navigate and mitigate the ways digital technologies change their lives and transform societies.
Advancing knowledge, critical thinking and capacity building are central to their work. Through our Tactical Tech Studio, focused on Digital Literacy and our Tactical Tech Institute, we conduct research on the intersection of technology and society and develop creative, engaging and evidence-based interventions, resources, and tools —such as exhibitions, kits, guides and training programs — that confront conventional narratives and provoke critical thinking about technology impacts. Their interventions and resources spark conversations and drive transformative action.
We aim to redefine digital society by building the skills, understanding, and capacity of individuals and communities, enabling them to navigate and respond to the challenges and opportunities created by digital technologies.
Marek Tuszynski, co-Executive Director and co-founder of Tactical Tech, is an artist, designer and curator working at the intersection of technology and activism. Marek is also a filmmaker, producer, teacher and provocateur whose creative interventions span media from film and radio to television, books, exhibitions, public spaces and the web. For 30 years, he has worked at the intersection of technology and politics, information and activism, and the consequences of living in a quantified society. In 2023, Marek was recognised by Mozilla Rise25 Awards as one of the artists and visionary leaders actively shaping a more ethical, responsible, and inclusive future for the internet.
